Hasina challenges extortion case in HC today
Sunday, 29 July 2007
Sheikh Hasina who has been in jail for nearly two weeks pending trial challenges the extortion case against her in the High Court Sunday, reports bdnews24.com quoting a party colleague.
Sahara Khatun, Awami League's legal affairs secretary, Saturday claimed that they had enough grounds to challenge the case.
After a meeting with the party's acting president Zillur Rahman at his Gulshan home, Khatun told reporters that lawyer Toufique Newaz visited Hasina at the special jail and finalised the power of attorney and other documents from her to move the planned petition.
Khatun argued that Hasina was arrested under regular law but an order from the home ministry, issued hours after her arrest, said the case had been taken under cover of emergency powers rules.
A case under emergency powers rules means the accused will not get bail from court.
Hasina's lawyers have been arguing that the case could not be brought under Emergency Powers Act since the so-called incident of extortion is an eight-year old affair.
Such an old case cannot be considered under the emergency powers rules that surfaced after the state of emergency was declared in mid-January, they said.
Barrister Rafiqul Huq is expected to be one of the lawyers to move the writ petition Sunday.
Hasina was arrested on July 16 at her Sudha Sadan home, and later a Dhaka court denied her bail and ordered her to jail.
On July 24, police formally charged Hasina with extortion, and the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court for Dhaka in a second rule fixed Aug 16 the date to hear the case.
Hasina's sister Sheikh Rehana, who is abroad now, has also been charged in the case although the complainant did not name her in the original complaint.
The case involves alleged extortion of Tk 29.9 million (2.99 crore) from a businessman in return for allowing him to build a power plant in Siddhirganj, Narayanganj, during Hasina's regime in 1996-2001.
Azam Jahangir Chowdhury, managing director of Eastcoast Trading, filed the case on June 13 with Gulshan Police Station, accusing Hasina and former minister Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim of extortion.
Hasina and the Awami League denied the charges, saying that the case was politically motivated. The party also decried the arrest and subsequent detention, arguing that it was meant to prevent Hasina from taking part in next elections, expected to be held anytime between October and December 2008.
An earlier report adds: Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, who has been in jail since July 16, fears her life is at stake, her lawyer said Saturday, reports bdnews24.com.
Sahara Khatun, Awami League's legal affairs secretary, Saturday claimed that they had enough grounds to challenge the case.
After a meeting with the party's acting president Zillur Rahman at his Gulshan home, Khatun told reporters that lawyer Toufique Newaz visited Hasina at the special jail and finalised the power of attorney and other documents from her to move the planned petition.
Khatun argued that Hasina was arrested under regular law but an order from the home ministry, issued hours after her arrest, said the case had been taken under cover of emergency powers rules.
A case under emergency powers rules means the accused will not get bail from court.
Hasina's lawyers have been arguing that the case could not be brought under Emergency Powers Act since the so-called incident of extortion is an eight-year old affair.
Such an old case cannot be considered under the emergency powers rules that surfaced after the state of emergency was declared in mid-January, they said.
Barrister Rafiqul Huq is expected to be one of the lawyers to move the writ petition Sunday.
Hasina was arrested on July 16 at her Sudha Sadan home, and later a Dhaka court denied her bail and ordered her to jail.
On July 24, police formally charged Hasina with extortion, and the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court for Dhaka in a second rule fixed Aug 16 the date to hear the case.
Hasina's sister Sheikh Rehana, who is abroad now, has also been charged in the case although the complainant did not name her in the original complaint.
The case involves alleged extortion of Tk 29.9 million (2.99 crore) from a businessman in return for allowing him to build a power plant in Siddhirganj, Narayanganj, during Hasina's regime in 1996-2001.
Azam Jahangir Chowdhury, managing director of Eastcoast Trading, filed the case on June 13 with Gulshan Police Station, accusing Hasina and former minister Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim of extortion.
Hasina and the Awami League denied the charges, saying that the case was politically motivated. The party also decried the arrest and subsequent detention, arguing that it was meant to prevent Hasina from taking part in next elections, expected to be held anytime between October and December 2008.
An earlier report adds: Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, who has been in jail since July 16, fears her life is at stake, her lawyer said Saturday, reports bdnews24.com.